'A 5th-place gap of 7 games': Hanwha shouldn't give up on autumn baseball yet; what's the foreign investor who allowed 7 earned runs in just 1/3 inning, posting an ERA of 13.50... The manager's thoughts [Daejeon field]

*This content was translated by AI.

For Hanwha Eagles, who have not yet given up hope for autumn baseball, there is one major concern: Bruce Zimmermann (31), a foreign player who joined the team and has struggled to even complete six innings, let alone secure a single win.

Zimmermann made his start in the home game against LG Twins at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark on the 21st during the 2026 Shinhan SOL KBO League regular season. He allowed six hits and two walks while striking out one, surrendering seven earned runs in just 1/3 of an inning before being replaced by Kwon Min-kyu (20) without completing even the first inning.

Fortunately, relief pitcher Kwon Min-kyu held on for 4 1/3 innings allowing three earned runs, while the Hanwha lineup erupted with two runs in the fourth, three in the fifth, three in the sixth, three in the seventh, and four in the eighth to stage a dramatic 15-11 comeback victory. This spared Zimmermann from being charged with the loss. However, even this dramatic comeback win could not erase Zimmermann's poor performance.

Zimmermann signed with Hanwha on a total contract of $440,000 (approximately 600 million won) as a replacement for foreign player Wilkel Hernandez on the 20th of last month. His best outing since joining was his debut game. On the 26th of last month during the Daejeon LG game, he recorded four scoreless innings.

The trouble began after that. After allowing seven earned runs in four innings and six earned runs in five innings, Zimmermann surrendered seven earned runs in just 1/3 of an inning on the 21st, sending his season ERA soaring to a staggering 13.50. He has completed five innings in only one of his four appearances this season.

If Hanwha had already given up on the season early on, they could have waited it out. However, the door to autumn baseball is not yet completely closed. As of the game on the 23rd, Hanwha stands at 49 wins, three draws, and 56 losses, tied with the 6th-place Lotte Giants but sitting in 7th place. With 36 games remaining, they trail the 5th-place Doosan Bears by seven games.

Normally, such a gap would never be considered small. However, this year presents a variable: the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games scheduled for September. With key players from each team absent for about three weeks, Hanwha still has room to catch up.

Especially, the 5th-place Doosan Bears will lose their top-tier one-two punch Kwak Bin (27) and Choi Min-seok (20), along with Park Jun-soon (20), who is batting .315 with 16 home runs, to the national team. Additionally, on the 21st, foreign ace Wes Benjamin (33) was sidelined due to a minor strain in his left subscapularis muscle.

Hanwha will also be without Noh Si-hwan (26) and Moon Hyun-bin (22), but they have relatively abundant resources to replace them in the lineup. Kang Baek-ho (27) and Heo In-seo (23) remain healthy, and captain Chae Eun-seong (36), who has returned from injury, is hitting powerfully with a .349 batting average (15 hits in 43 at-bats) over 12 games in August.

Kim Tae-yeon (29) is also on fire, to the point where he temporarily pushed 20-home run hitter Yonatan Peraza (28) to the bench. Kim Tae-yeon is currently batting .462 (6 hits in 13 at-bats) over nine games in August. Rookie Han Ji-yoon (20) is also contributing with a .345 batting average (10 hits in 29 at-bats) and an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.027.

Ultimately, one of the major concerns for Hanwha, which aims to leverage the Asian Games variable, is its starting rotation, particularly Zimmermann. If he cannot even hold on for five innings, it becomes more than just a single-game issue. It places a cumulative burden on the bullpen that will need to be mobilized in a full-scale effort toward the end of the season.

The manager is certainly aware of Zimmermann's struggles. Hanwha manager Kim Kyung-moon (68) told reporters on the 22nd, "Zimmermann himself must be under the most stress. As a manager, it's natural. I spoke with him once after yesterday's (21st) game ended, and he said he is working extremely hard because he really wants to do well."

However, he also stated that there are no plans to immediately remove him from the starting rotation or adjust the rotation schedule. Manager Kim added, "I think we have no choice but to wait a bit longer," and requested understanding, saying, "We should give him time to turn things around after having a rough patch."

When ace Wang Yencheng (25) was hospitalized due to pneumonia symptoms on the 21st, Hanwha had no choice but to hold onto Zimmermann like a straw. Wang Yencheng is expected to return as soon as he skips just one start in the rotation. Because of this, Manager Kim held back on commenting about whether Zimmermann would make his next start, saying only, "He should go, for now..."

The problem is how long Hanwha can wait until Zimmermann bounces back. With 36 games remaining and a seven-game gap to 5th place, it is too early to give up on autumn baseball, yet there isn't much time to casually watch the struggles of one starting spot.

However, there is no intention to burden Zimmermann alone. The veteran's thinking is that as a team, they will do their best until the very end. Manager Kim emphasized, "Looking at it coldly, we are performing worse than last year at home. So I am sorry to the fans," and added, "Every remaining game is important. We must repay the fans who have supported us until the end with better games."

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*This content was translated by AI.